In today’s political and cultural climate, in a divided Brexit Britain, expressing pride in your birth nation can feel like something of a social grey area.

Our study has found, just ahead of St. George’s Day, that many of us are proud of our country, though feel it is generally only appropriate to express this pride at particular times.

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The World Cup was named the occasion where Brits feel most comfortable indulging their patriotic side, followed by the Olympic Games and Armistice Day.

Generally, older Brits feel more patriotic than younger generations, with 40 per cent aged 55 and over describing themselves as ‘Very patriotic’, compared to 18 per cent of those aged 18 to 24.

Younger people are also more likely to feel ashamed of expressing their patriotism, with 29 per cent of young adults surveyed feeling this way, compared to 19 per cent of those aged 55 and over.

And a quarter of 18 to 24 year olds think patriotism doesn’t really matter in modern society, compared to 15 per cent of over 55s.

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Of the 2,000 adults surveyed, one in two own something bearing the flag of their home country, be it a sticker, shirt or keyring.

Seven per cent even have a tattoo of their country’s flag, patron saint or symbol on their bodies.

And 48 per cent wish there were more flags bearing their home country flying in their local town or city.

Despite this, only 17 per cent would feel comfortable flying a national flag in their garden or outside their property.

And 72 per cent of Brits think people are less patriotic than they used to be.

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With St George’s Day on Monday, one in seven of those surveyed said they celebrate the day of their nation’s patron saint every year, and one in four have celebrated the day at least once in the past.

Greg added:

British patriotism has something of an image crisis, and each flying national flag is heavy with history and context which can be problematic.

It is interesting to see from our findings Brits would feel more comfortable representing their nation during a sporting event than, say, a patron saints holiday, as perhaps the context of sporting rivalries and team support smooths over the harder edges of patriotism.